The City

Mysterious&Shy

Went walking yesterday and this morning and I must say that it was fabulous! The Quay is looking really well!

deise48

i havent been in for a few days but looking forward to seeing it over the weekend

Mysterious&Shy

Since they put up the glass flood barriers, its looking fab!

Was down there bout 11am this morning and the bridge was lifted to leave a boat through - lovely site!

merlante

The city is coming on, no doubt about it. Can't wait for the carparks to leave the Quay.

On a critical note though, on Scotch quay, where a lot of people go for walks, they are in the process of erecting a high, ugly barrier along the banks of John's river. You'd have to be fairly tall to feed, or even see, the swans with any kind of ease, and it takes the whole look off the place. If this barrier turns out to be as ugly as it looks at the moment then it will sharply reduce the attractiveness of the area. I really don't understand why the barriers have to be so high and so ugly. The quay was high enough as it was, and with the size of this barrier, all the icecaps could melt and it still wouldn't overflow.

Mysterious&Shy

merlante wrote: »

The city is coming on, no doubt about it. Can't wait for the carparks to leave the Quay.

On a critical note though, on Scotch quay, where a lot of people go for walks, they are in the process of erecting a high, ugly barrier along the banks of John's river. You'd have to be fairly tall to feed, or even see, the swans with any kind of ease, and it takes the whole look off the place. If this barrier turns out to be as ugly as it looks at the moment then it will sharply reduce the attractiveness of the area. I really don't understand why the barriers have to be so high and so ugly. The quay was high enough as it was, and with the size of this barrier, all the icecaps could melt and it still wouldn't overflow.

Yeah I saw that today and they look to be really high...

ex_infantry man

yeah and a lot of businesses are after opening along the quay especially down towards the bridge end so things must be on a turn again and with the waterford crystal visitors centre coming on stream in few weeks maybe it will impact throughout the whole city and not just one area??

Bards

Great to see Waterford Suir Valley Railway and Suirway in partnership running buses (Incroporating trains tickets) from the New Waterford Crystal Centre and tourist Office to Kilmeaden Station - should lead to an increase in tourists using this facility

http://www.wsvrailway.ie/pdfs/nocarnoproblem.pdf

dayshah

ex_infantry man wrote: »

yeah and a lot of businesses are after opening along the quay especially down towards the bridge end so things must be on a turn again and with the waterford crystal visitors centre coming on stream in few weeks maybe it will impact throughout the whole city and not just one area??

Well, if more tourists stay in the Granville and The Brigde (whatever its called now) and Metropole (whatever its called now) there will probably be more tourists walking along the quay, so it would be a good place for a shop. Also, I suppose the quay is just generally more pleasant with the decrease in traffic.

Blaalarry

Mysterious&Shy wrote: »

Went walking yesterday and this morning and I must say that it was fabulous! The Quay is looking really well!

What the beautiful Quay needs, maybe down by the Plaza, is a little Tea and scones stall. Just to sit there and look at the river and boats on a nice day would be lovely.:)

Dum_Dum

Would be good to see the railway extended along the Quay to near the Tower. Probably as part of a bigger project to revamp the Quay (like Wexford Town)

Visitors could spend a morning in the new glass centre and take a steam train to Congreve and Kilmeaden for the afternoon (or vice versa).

Mysterious&Shy

Blaalarry wrote: »

What the beautiful Quay needs, maybe down by the Plaza, is a little Tea and scones stall. Just to sit there and look at the river and boats on a nice day would be lovely.:)

Wouldn't it be lovely!

BlaasForRafa

deise48 wrote: »

i havent been in for a few days but looking forward to seeing it over the weekend

going up paddy browns road all the trees were looking really well today. I remember some years ago when the council put them in and they were continuously vandalised and looked pretty tragic. Since they've had a chance to grow big they make that area, espeically between lisduggan and St.Pauls/Belvedere drive area look brilliant.

BlaasForRafa

Dum_Dum wrote: »

Would be good to see the railway extended along the Quay to near the Tower. Probably as part of a bigger project to revamp the Quay (like Wexford Town)

Visitors could spend a morning in the new glass centre and take a steam train to Congreve and Kilmeaden for the afternoon (or vice versa).

Dunno about trains but this city would suit a tram service really well, one going from ferrybank out to the Viewmount area and another running out to to the industrial estate to service people going to and from work.

the stealer

It sounds like there's some great things going on around town! I'm living in Oz at the moment and haven't been home in well over a year so I was just wondering is there any chance someone could take a couple of pictures and post them pretty please? Or does anybody know of somewhere online that has any?

Thanks!

Mysterious&Shy

the stealer wrote: »

It sounds like there's some great things going on around town! I'm living in Oz at the moment and haven't been home in well over a year so I was just wondering is there any chance someone could take a couple of pictures and post them pretty please? Or does anybody know of somewhere online that has any?

Thanks!

I'll be going walking in the morning and will pm you some pics:)

dayshah

the stealer wrote: »

It sounds like there's some great things going on around town! I'm living in Oz at the moment and haven't been home in well over a year so I was just wondering is there any chance someone could take a couple of pictures and post them pretty please? Or does anybody know of somewhere online that has any?

Thanks!

Here is a webcam of the new glass visitor centre.
http://www.waterfordcity.ie/cam/index.htm

comeraghs

Has the Kilmeaden steam train extended its route?

Bards

comeraghs wrote: »

Has the Kilmeaden steam train extended its route?

I have been reliably informed that next week (14th June) the new track will be inspected by the railway comission for safety etc.

Later on this month once all the paperwork has been signed off the new section will open

P.S - it is not a steam train, but a small diesel train that was used during the construction of the channel tunnel

from http://www.wsvrailway.ie/aboutourrailway.shtml
"The rolling stock includes a restored Simplex Locomotive, which had an arduous working life in the peat industry in the North of England and Scotland. It was also used in excavating the Channel Tunnel. It now pulls two partially open carriages travelling at 15km per hour and can accommodate up to 90 passengers. The journey time is approximately 40 minutes. "

comeraghs

Grassy-arse Bards!

Keep us updated on that will ya!

Planning on taking the GF for a spin on it & may as well wait til the line is extended.

Bards

WSVR is now running on the extended the track since Monday (12th July)

http://www.wsvrailway.ie/news11.shtml

http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=mhmhauqlsn&cat=news

Partizan

Fantastic news about the W&SVR. There is future plans to extend the line up as far as the old Foundry where Waterford South Station once stood and build a station. I think the W&SVR has a massive potential not only as a tourist facility but also be used by commuters & students travelling from Waterford - WIT Carriganore - Kilmeaden. The icing on the cake would be to bring it along down the Quay as far as the Mall while extending it the other way to Kilmac.

The lads running the W&SVR are no eejits and know damn well they are sitting on sound business investment. if this line was fully developed, it would be a massive boost to Waterford city.

comeraghs

Thanks Bards!

& Partizan .. I agree with you totally .... a link as far as the Bus Eireann stop would be fine .... integrated transport & all that. I think a link to Tramore would be better than to Kilmac although I know what you mean with that track already existing ... some creative thinking is all that is needed!

Partizan

comeraghs wrote: »

Thanks Bards!

& Partizan .. I agree with you totally .... a link as far as the Bus Eireann stop would be fine .... integrated transport & all that. I think a link to Tramore would be better than to Kilmac although I know what you mean with that track already existing ... some creative thinking is all that is needed!

Bang on the button, even better post. There is nothing stopping the W&SVR from extending the line as far as Waterford Bus Station and have it link up with the bus services of the city and beyond except of course cash. It would be very feasable to run a multi-operational services to cater for both tourists, commuters and students. What exists right now is a heritage line but by extending the line, the W&SVR would automatically be tapping into a whole new market. This line has great potential and if it did come about Waterford would get a massive shot in the arm. It would be expensive but the knock on effects to the local economy would be immense in the short to medium term.

A commuter/tourist service should run like this -

P&R at Kilmeaden/Ballyduff with staffed station. Unmanned halts at Carriganore, Mount Congreve and Waterford Bus Station with loops at all halts. The current 3 foot gauge would not pose a problem and if needs be the gauge could be extended to 4" 8 European standard.

Bards

Partizan wrote: »

Bang on the button, even better post. There is nothing stopping the W&SVR from extending the line as far as Waterford Bus Station and have it link up with the bus services of the city and beyond except of course cash. It would be very feasable to run a multi-operational services to cater for both tourists, commuters and students. What exists right now is a heritage line but by extending the line, the W&SVR would automatically be tapping into a whole new market. This line has great potential and if it did come about Waterford would get a massive shot in the arm. It would be expensive but the knock on effects to the local economy would be immense in the short to medium term.

A commuter/tourist service should run like this -

P&R at Kilmeaden/Ballyduff with staffed station. Unmanned halts at Carriganore, Mount Congreve and Waterford Bus Station with loops at all halts. The current 3 foot gauge would not pose a problem and if needs be the gauge could be extended to 4" 8 European standard.

I was talking to the lads out at the Railway and they have bigger plans afoot to bring it as far as The Millenium Plaza - should be possible with the Quay being re-designed. I am sure there will be a number of stops along the quay facilitating shoppers etc.

dayshah

Took a walk around town. I thought Henrietta St. was looking much improved. Some building recently painted, probably due to a word from the City Council. Its amazing what an improvement is made with just a paint job. It would be nice if they could do the same on O'Connell St.

Partizan

Bards wrote: »

I was talking to the lads out at the Railway and they have bigger plans afoot to bring it as far as The Millenium Plaza - should be possible with the Quay being re-designed. I am sure there will be a number of stops along the quay facilitating shoppers etc.

Would be fantastic if it came about, only problem would be the cash which is a scarcity in today's economic climate. Our very own WLUAS

I'll grab my coat.

Trotter

People must have thought I was a bit mad but I stood in Cathedral Square at the back of Christchurch last week while it was sunny and warm, arms folded staring at the roof. The buildings there seem a bit improved on what I saw last time I was down that way.

Stick with me here, but imagine putting a permanent tarpaulin like the one on the plaza between the two rows of buildings, partially covering the square. Then imagine some little bar / restaurants and late night cafés there, maybe a marked out small square for live accoustic music.

Tapas night in Cathedral Square.. weather not an issue... Spanish guitars and loads of tables and chairs with the little dividers you'd see outside bars in any of the European cities. Stick in some nifty ground up lighting and you have a lovely little European style square.. and we'd have roofed it!

Gdansk



Brussels





Riga



/Hallucination

Joey leBlanc

I've always thought that Waterford is one of Ireland's most European looking cities. I guess we have the Vikings/Normans to thank for that. At the moment there are a number of areas in the city that would be suitable for an outdoor eating/drinking/coffee areas.

1. The Apple Market: Plenty of existing pubs/restaurants; an existing paved area; right in the heart of the city. The only negative thing I can think of is the potential for some eejit's ruining it for the masses.

2. The small part of High St with Restaurants : Close off this small part of the street & allow the existing restauants to have tables etc ouside. Cover the street from above as previously proposed.

3. Cathedral Sq. : Excellent potential. However, it needs a restaurant, cafe or a bar to bring it to life. The proximity to the new Wfd Crystal showrooms would provide substantial footfall if properly signposted.

4. Ballybricken : Most of the area is taken up by on street parking. However, if certain areas were paved & a few restaurants added to the already existing bars it could be a great spot. The close proximity of the Garda Station would provide some deterent for mischief.

By having more than one going out area (John's Street) & promoting some new "quarters" in the city there would not be just hundreds of people congregating in one small space as what exists at present & lessen the potential for trouble.